No cash for major Labor road promise until after next election

Long-suffering Bruce Highway motorists are likely to be still facing a bottleneck until the end of the decade, while $15bn in Qld projects remain under threat. SEARCH THE INTERACTIVE

No money for Labor’s biggest election commitment to Queensland, a $586m upgrade of the Bruce Highway, will start flowing before the next election.

Meanwhile, decisions on the fate of $15bn in Queensland road and rail projects in the crosshairs of the government’s 90-day audit will be pushed out to the end of the year.

During the election, Labor promised $586m towards a $733m project to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Anzac Ave and Uhlmann Rd, saying funding for the major road under the Morrison government had “stalled”.

It’s gridlock on the Bruce Highway between Maryborough and Gympie … decisions on Labor’s 90-day audit of road and rail projects may not be revealed until December. Picture: Lachie Millard

But there is no money in the budget set to flow until the 2025-26 financial year, after the latest possible date for the next election, a funding breakdown presented in Senate estimates hearings revealed.

There is $224m set to flow from 2025-26, another $120m the following year, with the final funds to be spent by 2029-30.

It means motorists are likely to be still facing a bottleneck in that section of road until the end of the decade.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King’s spokeswoman said a business case was already under way and the funding matched the expected time frames.

“Developing a major infrastructure project is a long game from inception to conclusion,” the spokeswoman said.

Infrastructure Department secretary Jim Betts. Source: Supplied

The section of road being funded runs through the safe LNP seat of Petrie to the marginal LNP seat of Longman.

Because it was an election commitment, it is exempt from the government’s 90-day audit of infrastructure projects.

The government announced a 90-day audit into the $120bn infrastructure pipeline, indicating projects would be axed as inflation pushes to cost of projects up.

But Infrastructure Department secretary Jim Betts told Senate estimates on Monday that decisions around those projects would be made between “now and the end of the year” and would be based on the findings of the audit.

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman, Senator Bridget McKenzie. Picture: Getty Images

“The review will take place, the government will take decisions on the back of the reviews recommendations,” Mr Betts said.

“Those decisions will take place in (the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook).”

MYEFO does not take place until mid-December.

Mr Betts said a project was subject to the audit was not necessarily going to be cut or delayed.

“We’re not talking about downing tools on projects under construction; we’re not talking about cancelling projects,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want alarm to spread in the community just because a project is part of this review.”

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman, Senator Bridget McKenzie, questioned the independence of the audit, saying several Labor MPs had claimed various projects were off the review list.